Be very aware of scammers

Thank you very much AD. I was scammed a while back on a car forum I was on. My post to the moderator about the incident was ignored. I've since sold the car and no longer visit that website.

It's nice to know you guys are watching our backs. The hard work you all do in behalf of this forum does not go unnoticed!
 
Thank you very much AD. I was scammed a while back on a car forum I was on. My post to the moderator about the incident was ignored. I've since sold the car and no longer visit that website.

It's nice to know you guys are watching our backs. The hard work you all do in behalf of this forum does not go unnoticed!
Happy to do it, being on a budget all my life I HATE scammers. It's one of the reasons I watch the Who's Online page here every day because they're not hard to recognize and the best way to avoid trouble with them is to not allow any of them in long enough for them to accomplish anything. Since August of 2023 they can't send a PM immediately anyway, and since they never like to do introductions then we have the upper hand.

So when anyone sees a post I've locked because the new member didn't do their introduction, don't look at it as petty or old-school on my part, think of it as one of the many roadblocks we've established to keep this place safe for all the real members.
 
Years ago I started and moderated a forum (totally unrelated to motorcycles) that caught me off-guard by really taking off, and I had my hands very full with everything involved with maintaining and moderating it, so I know how hard you work on VHT. Just know that your work (all moderators here) is recognized and very appreciated.
 
Years ago I started and moderated a forum (totally unrelated to motorcycles) that caught me off-guard by really taking off, and I had my hands very full with everything involved with maintaining and moderating it, so I know how hard you work on VHT. Just know that your work (all moderators here) is recognized and very appreciated.
Thanks very much for the kind words.

It's a full time job if you actually care about how things go for your forum and members. I spend more time here than anyone does, starting right after I get up in the morning to right before I go to bed every night around 11:30 pm EDT.

If I'm not on my computer, I'm on my phone no matter where I am - shopping, doctor's offices, dental appointments. I'm never away from VHT more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Why? Because I've waited as long as a week just to join other forums before, and/or just to get a post approved, and I don't want VHT members to have to put up with that.
 
Last edited:
Well they're still on a roll, now it's up to 26 frauds out of the last 60 new registrations. Slightly lower percentage but still well above the usual.

Part of the recent influx has to do with their almost exclusive use of gmx.com email addresses in recent weeks. I typically block any email suffix that isn't mainstream (like the many ridiculous made-up domain addresses from those who use data center VPNs, here's an example - @hetianjade.browndecorationlights.com). Can't just block all gmx.com emails, so each new "creation" has to be blocked separately as they use them.
 
The influx of frauds and scammers has eased up a bit as of late, but it's still enough to warrant watching closely if engaging a new member about parts. We work hard to keep all of them out of VHT, but we do get temporarily fooled once in a while so stay on guard.

40 of the last 160 new registrations (25%!) have been frauds.
 
Last edited:
Scammers can occasionally be pretty damn creative. This guy thought he was smarter than my memory when he chose to copy most of another member's legitimate thread verbatim and use it as his own. As soon as I saw the title I knew it could only be one of two things - either the OP had forgotten his login information and decided to rejoin with a different name, or the new "member" stole his post to use as a cover for his intended future nefariousness. Turned out to be door #2


and here's the original thread, OP not seen since 2023.


He joined with a legitimate and clean IP address in Canada, but of course switched to his VPN server IP address based in Georgia after joining as if we wouldn't notice. Nice try scammer.
 
Back
Top Bottom